Ep 8: A Day in the Life of a Board Chair – With Joe Landau [PODCAST]

So why exactly would anyone want to join a board, let alone agree to be the chair?! That’s a lot of time and responsibility for no pay. On today’s podcast, I ask exactly that question to Joe Landau who has been in the big seat himself.

Board Chair is one of the most important roles at a nonprofit organization, but it isn’t the job for just anyone. Learn about what makes a good chair and how the role fits into the messiness of your organization.

Joe Landau knows all about that messiness. Joe was once the chair of Immigration Equality. And I think he’s been a chair that’s gotten it right. You can learn an awful lot from his experience.

When Joe isn’t running a nonprofit board, he’s an award-winning professor at Fordham University Law School. He was once the Assistant Managing Editor of New Republic magazine. Very interesting career.

This is another episode where you’ll want your pad and pencil. Joe gives an information-packed interview with loads of helpful tips that you can use to enhance your work as a board chair, or to have a better relationship with your board chair. Joe and I talk about everything from how to get there, to how to exit gracefully. Pull up a chair and have a listen.

Widely known as the "Dear Abby" of nonprofit leadership, Joan works with board and staff as a strategic advisor, crisis manager, change agent and strategic planner. Joan also teaches at the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on nonprofit communications and leadership.

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This was so refreshing. Our Artistic Director is the Board Chair, which doesn’t really work, and we’ve been depressed that there isn’t another obvious candidate. But the perspective that the Chair is a facilitator, and not necessarily the person with the strongest engagement (yet), I have new optimism. Thank you!

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About Me

Joan Garry is a non profit consultant with a practice focusing on crisis management, executive coaching, and building strong board and staff leadership teams. She is also a professor at the Annenberg School for Communications at UPenn.